Naija films-the good

Gugu E. Michaels: Here is an action film. There are no cars not hitting someone who then falls and dies. There are no lazy punches and thankfully no horrible sounding blows.

   

Dangerous Men and Unge's War

Naija films-the bad

I applaud actors for what they do, Nigerian actors most especially. I laud the creative bodies behind an art piece: music, film, literature.

One thing I find irritating with Naija films--perhaps above the crappy writing and editing, is the speaking or the butchering of what is supposed to be said.

With the Yoruba movies, I get irritated when an English word is used when its Yoruba equivalent does exist. This is not just bits and pieces of English, but entire sentences and phrases when unneeded. I might as well stick with periodicals, except those are near going extinct. With the English genre, my grouse comes when the actor starts speaking English. Many actors--both male and female, are guilty of this.

But I am not faulting the actors. I blame the director for not catching it and for not fixing it. And I blame the producer for allowing it. It shows laziness on both the producer and the director. This particular post is aimed at the director and producers. If an actor makes a mistake, the director and producer are the ones who should and must catch the and rectify it.

Acting does not mean impeccable language, be it Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa or English.

Now some Nigerians say English is not our mother tongue. That is a sad excuse. The institutions of learning are in English: primary, secondary, poly and Uni. Governing is conducted in guess what? English. So stuff it with the English is not the mother tongue. English is the official language--keep the mother tongues, those tones and vernacular are beautiful. And stop using this pathetic excuse as a crutch to allow "educated people" butcher it. It's yours, and that is not likely to change. 

Acting also does not mean incorporating an accent just because. If the character is a poor rural girl/guy, she should sound like one. Now if a character is supposed to be a student, in University, then he/she should not be butchering the lingua franca. Unless she is supposed to portray an uneducated person.

Acting is also not about just speaking English: Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo actors show us that. It is not about having a British-Carribbean-Australian-American accent when you are a poor and struggling guy/girl who has never left the country. 

But then again, it could be a reflection of the current Nigerian society. The weaves are already in competition for the longest and most outrageous, so it may not be completely wrong that the accents are equally so.

back in the day films

I decided to find the old Naija movies, the early ones of back in the day. If I had the money, and the access, I would purchase these things. If I had even the website to buy these things from sef, I would buy. So far I have seen:

The Diamond Ring

Top (Left-Right): Bukky Ajayi, Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD), Shola Shobowale, Liz Benson
Bottom (Left-Right): Teju Babyface, Bimbo Akintola
Directed by: Tade Ogidan

Synopsis:
The son (Teju Babyface) of a wealthy man (RMD) is sent to a Nigerian university where he is pushed to join a cult (XG) and later alongside his fellow cult members, robs the grave of a rich woman (Liz Benson). They steal a diamond ring and then become hunted, dying one after the other. The son falls ill and refuses to tell his parents the story behind his ill health, until his aunt (Bukky Ajayi) ,a seer ,intercedes with the ghost on his behalf. His father is faced with the task of finding the diamond ring which had been sold to someone in the UK.
--culled from Sola

I remember watching this movie as a kid, but seeing it again several years later sealed so many things for me. One, Teju Babyface is adorable. This confirms my crush on the guy. Second, Bimbo Akintola, Sola Sobowale, and Bukky Ajayi are amazing. Watching them was spectacular. Third, Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) is seriously good. The man is just so good. The cast was so perfect, I was sad when the movie ended. And you get to see everyone while they were young: Lanre Balogun (ah-mazing actor) and Funsho Adeolu.

More Money

Left-Right: Lanre Balogun, Bimbo Akintola, Jake Aernan, Segun Arinze
Directed by: Unknown

Synopsis:
This is story of a young school dropout (Jake Aernan), he retires in the village and resolves to do art works, he soon falls in love with a village girl Amaka (Bimbo Akintola) but does not have the money to marry her. 
--culled from Irokotv

This film featured Segun Arinze, who is seriously underrated or maybe ignored. He is one of Naija's finest actors, perhaps even better than RMD but not as gorgeous. It is similar to the Genevieve/Bimbo matter. He plays a professor here. Ramsey Nouah is also in this as well as the talented Jake Aernan. Now, we all know Ramsey is good and I will credit him as such. But this blog is dedicated to those who are not so harped upon in the Naija film industry. Jake Aernan is simply divine, especially with Bimbo Akintola. My favorite part of this is when the film actually shows the two of them courting. The directing was poor here, the trees were interfering and the scenes kept overlapping which is seriously distracting. But the process by which one actually falls in love with another is displayed.

Lest I forget, John Okafor plays the village jester. The kids love him but the adults do not take him seriously. This is the first time I have actually found him funny; that I actually remember him weeks after watching this film. Lanre Balogun plays Bimbo Akintola's father, an Igbo man. His acting here sealed it for me that he is in fact good. I completely forgot that he is Yoruba. There were some other actors, particularly the man who broke the news to Aernan's character that his parent is dead...I will find the man's name, I shall.

Deadly Affair

Left-Right: Sam Loco-Efe (deceased), Dolly Unachukwu, Emeka Ike, Sandra Achums, Jide Kosoko, Toyin Afolayan (Lola Idije)
Directed By: Chico Ejiro

Synopsis:

Ikechukwu (Emeka Ike) loves two women, Isabella (Dolly Unachukwu) and Bola (Sandra Achums). Isabella is a gangster and she is determined to have Ikechukwu (IK) at all cost, even if it means destroying Bola and her beloved IK. 


I have no idea what happened to Emeka Ike, but in this film he is absolutely good. Not exceptional but really really good. A 180 from what he does today, and I would like to see him return to that. The man is a pretty good actor, when he delivers. The film is great, it showcases Igbo, Yoruba, English and Pidgin English. I'm seeing Jide Kosoko, Toyin Afolayan (Lola Idije), Emeka Ike, Sandra Achums and  the deceased Sam Loco Efe. The story is pleasant and unpredictable, but somehow very Nigerian. 

Naija Directors

Not in any rank: In parentheses is the latest film by the artists I have seen.

Moses Inwang (Nollywood Hustlers)
2. Emem Isong
3. Prince Emeka Ani (Not My Wife)
4. Ikechukwu Onyeka
5. Lancelot Imaseun
6. Ego Boyo (Violated)
7. Blessing Egbe (Two Brides and a Baby)
8. Tchidi Chikere (Live to Remember)
9. Tade Ogidan (Madame Dearest)
10. Charles Novia (Missing Angel)
11. Uzodinma Okpechi (Turntable)
12. Aquila Njamah (Be4 The Vows/After The Vows)
13. Prince Ikechukwu Kolawole (The Rule)

The Rule 2

Marketers annoy me sometimes. This movie was not meant to be a two-part. You can tell by looking at the credits and the intro, they are the exact same thing. The marketers spliced them apart and labeled one part 1 and the other, part 2. The actual second part of this movie is called Final Dream.

In The Rule 2, I must point out that for the first time, I am watching a Naija film that portrays a prostitute/call-girl as a person. The character Gloria, played by Pascaline Evans, is a call girl. And she also own and operates a mobile call center. I was impressed that the script writer did not create typecasts. That is a first for me in a Naija film. 

Esther Okereke

The movie is The Rule
It is directed by Prince Ikechukwu Kolawole...yeah, I rewound the clip just to see that again. Nice! 
Story by Sylvester Onyibe. 2010 film.

Okonkwo(Sam Loco Efe) sold his plot of land for her daughter Vicky(Ester okereke) to be in school, but unfortunately she came back without achieving anything bigger than pregnancy.--irokotv

YouTube

This one film called "The Rule" has impressed me thus far, and I am only 11 minutes into the film.
This is the first Nigerian movie I have seen where the word "university" is not just thrown about. Why? Because the main character actually has books with her.The attention to detail in this film impresses me. In the early scene, Vicky (played by Esther Okereke)  is in a canteen, eating and reading...Students can identify with that. I can!

The main character, Vicky is not a typecast who immediately jumps for joy when a guy says he loves her. She actually insults him-Jackson (played by Jnr Pope Odonwodo). Her words: "I am not one of those girls you can use for your October rush." That sentence alone wowed me. I had absolutely no doubt that these people are actually college students.

The interactions between the main character, Vicky, and her group of friends are portrayed well. There is also a joke about the dressing stereotypes of law/poli-sci students. It actually felt like a conversation in which each character partook, not one person talking down to, or at others. 11:11-11:54.
Juliet played by Confidence Chukwu
Phina played by Patience Okwori
Rhoda played by Catherine Asuquo

The same goes for the interaction between Jackson and his law/poli-sci friends.
Minister played by South Anthony
Humphrey played by Kingsley Ezenwome
Fred played by Sylvester Onyibe
Stanley played by John Ogadimma
Kaycee played by David Nwankwo

A group of students are actually having a discussion. I am serious. This takes me back to Oleku. The characters may not be major but they are not completely sidelined. The discussion is not overshadowed by shouting, which I found impressive. I actually felt like I was on a Naija college campus. These actors are quite good. 13:40-17:17, 18:36-19:34

I have yet to see a classroom but the interaction between the students I have seen so far has established the setting. The students actually look like college students. They have style but it is college-student style. Y'know, no overbearing makeup or clothes 'cause your money goes to tuition and they have books. The books cinched it for me.

The best reaction to a slap ever in Nollywood history: 29:36-29:45

The best part of it all is that there is absolutely no singer narrating the entire plot. No singing at all, simply appropriately-fitting sounds. I love it.

I commend:
1. The director. Well done. Prince Ikechukwu Kolawole, thank you. Your attention to detail is applauded.
2. The screenwriter. Thank you for the dialogue. The English with hints of pidgin and the humour, thank you.

Star: Esther Okereke as Vicky

I do not know much about this actress but she is good. She plays her role so well that I keep rewinding just to watch her in action. She does not scream to show her point, there is no breast attack or heel-attack or club outfit. For that, I commend the director. She speaks well. Her weave/wig is appropriate for the setting. The picture may not be that clear but she is good. I am impressed and surprised that she is not used more often.

Happy New year

It took longer than I predicted but shorter and easier than I expected. And I am finished with my very first Naija compilation. Windows Live Movie Maker (WLMM) is a pain in the butt. If it does not recognize videos that are in their correct directories, it does not display the videos correctly. I loved Movie Maker, that was what I used to create the anime mix. I was expecting WLMM to be similar and better with its pretty graphic user interface (GUI) but no such luck. First disappointment of 2012 :)

I created this video using CyberLink PowerDirector8. It is relatively easy to use, and occasionally you will need a tutorial for certain things. I love it.

Song: Different by Adol

Naija Romantic Scenes

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